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Climate · Zurich

Zurich in January

Chilly and damp, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

January in Zurich is chilly: highs near 44°F, lows near 29°F. Rain or snow falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 38 minutes from the first week to the last.January in Zurich is chilly: highs near 7°C, lows near -2°C. Rain or snow falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 38 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
44°F7°Caverage
Low
29°F-2°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 45% of days
Daylight
8h 56mon average

Is January a good time to visit Zurich?

January sits outside Zurich's best months, which run from June to September. Expect chilly days and rain or snow on about three days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How January sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 44°F in January, against 44°F to 78°F through the year.Highs near 7°C in January, against 7°C to 26°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

45% of days in January, against 39% to 52% through the year.

Cloud cover

63% cover in January, against 46% to 67% through the year.

Daylight

8h 56m in January, against 8h 31m to 15h 53m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with January shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. December45°7°low 31°low -1°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. January44°7°low 29°low -2°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. February46°8°low 29°low -2°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Zurich sits, in January

Europe/Zurich
this place
typical high in January 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-January
8:09 AMsets 5:00 PM
Above the sea
410 mlow-lying
Latitude
47.4°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Bürgenstock44 km south

The land around Zurich, shaded by its typical high in January, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in Switzerland in January

high · low · wet days
See January on the planning mapThe whole year in Zurich

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Zurich. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (410 m) against the climate model's (486 m).Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (410 m) against the climate model's (486 m). Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.